A wacky writer's journal.

No Free Lunch

For me, it was a crazy start to the year. I got a buffet coupon for two for a luncheon at The Leela Kempinski. My friend and I decided to avail the benefit and skipped breakfast to absorb the most of it! Yes, we are cheap and proud of it.

We worked up an appetite and rode to the venue around 1:30 p.m all excited. Little did we know that the day would turn out to be a nauseating roller-coaster. The tyre of my friend’s Scooty Pep wobbled as we rode. It was a puncture. Out of sheer hunger we pondered if we could have lunch first and then get the tyre fixed, but it was too far to push the bike. We were hungry, sweaty and we now needed to find a tyre repair shop. We pushed the vehicle to ask two disinterested cops if they knew where we could find help. They pointed to a distant tyre shop. Being a girl has its perks. Help when asked with a pout, is never refused.

It took us precisely 30 minutes to get the tyre fixed. Rupees 200/- kapoot. When it was ready we hopped onto it and rode away to the land of limitless food. We parked the bike at the first parking spot our eyes landed on and sprinted to the restaurant Citrus. The buffet at Leela was contrasting to its ambience. Although the spread was versatile, the food was average. With a full tummy we walked around the galleria to feel lighter.

After an hour of loitering, we decided to leave. We reached the parking zone to find our vehicle missing. We walked the whole stretch of the road wondering if we forgot where we parked it. Then it struck us! The icing on the cake, the workout after a heavy meal; our vehicle was towed away. In haste we parked at a ‘ No-Parking’ spot. The day couldn’t get any worse. We asked the nearest pani-puriwala for the location of the nearest police station, barged into an auto, and for the FIRST time in life, let an auto-driver advise us on what to do next. We reached the point and saw them unload vehicles like smuggled goods. Being women did not work in our favour this time. The traffic cop made a receipt and demanded money. These are the times we wish to have a corrupt politician or officer in the family to rent influence from. Rupees 300/- kapoot.

We were all excited to enjoy some free lunch and ended up blowing 500/- that day. It’s true, in life there really is no free lunch. It was a tiring, yet hilarious day. Something we’ll laugh about for many years to come. Looking forward to more roller-coaster rides this year. Bring it on! 🙂